Elections

With election campaigns, government processes or court decisions, the political landscape is constantly changing. Penn State experts keep their fingers on the pulse of the political climate in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, the United States and on the issues important to voters.

  • Daniel Mallinson

    Associate Professor of Public Policy and Administration

    Politics & Policy

  • Michael Berkman

    Director for the Penn State McCourtney Institute for Democracy

    Politics & Policy

  • Ray Block

    Associate Professor of Political Science and African American Studies

    Civil Rights, Politics & Policy, Digital Media Technologies

  • Robert Speel

    Associate Professor of Political Science

    Politics & Policy

  • Michael Nelson

    Associate Professor of Political Science

    Law and Policy, Politics & Policy

The Penn State community includes a wide range of faculty members and researchers who contribute to an open, public dialogue on important political issues across the state, nation and world. Our faculty often speak with the media on research related to issues that are top of mind during elections.

  • We have faculty specializing in the political landscape of the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, including insights into the state's Senate race and voter demographic.
  • Faculty in the McCourtney Institute for Democracy research issues of rhetorical education, democratic deliberation and forms of dissent and investigate questions of democratic governance and public policy.
  • Other subject matter experts are available on topics that may arise during the election cycle such as fake news and news literacy, sustainable energy policy, abortion rights, immigration, inflation and foreign policy.
Daniel Mallinson

Daniel Mallinson

Associate Professor of Public Policy and Administration

Expertise:

  • Politics & Policy

Focus Areas:

  • Politics
  • American Politics
  • Pennsylvania Politics
  • Elections
  • Drug Policy

Contact Daniel Mallinson with questions about: state and local politics and policy. His primary research focus examining the mechanics of policy diffusion among the U.S. states, or how new policy ideas do and do not spread among governmental bodies.

Michael Berkman

Michael Berkman

Director for the Penn State McCourtney Institute for Democracy,
Professor of Political Science

Expertise

  • Politics & Policy

Focus Areas:

  • American Politics
  • Elections
  • Democracy
  • State Politics

Contact Michael Berkman with questions about: state and national politics and the democratic electoral process.

Ray Block

Ray Block

Associate Professor of Political Science and African American Studies

Expertise:

  • Civil Rights
  • Politics & Policy
  • Digital Media Technologies

Focus Areas:

  • Politics
  • Social Justice Movements
  • Diversity
  • American Politics
  • Elections
  • Voting Behavior
  • Misinformation and Disinformation

Contact Ray Block with questions about: racial and ethnic group politics, voting behavior, and public opinion.

Robert Speel

Robert Speel

Associate Professor of Political Science

Expertise

  • Politics & Policy

Focus Areas:

  • Politics
  • American Politics
  • American Presidency
  • Elections
  • Voting Behavior
  • Congress
  • International Affairs

Contact Robert Speel with questions about: many aspects of American politics, including elections and voting behavior, state and urban politics, Congress and the presidency, public policy, as well as ethnic and racial politics and Canadian politics.

Michael  Nelson

Michael Nelson

Associate Professor of Political Science

Expertise:

  • Law and Policy
  • Politics & Policy

Focus Areas:

  • Politics
  • American Politics
  • Pennsylvania Politics
  • US Supreme Court

Contact Michael Nelson with questions about: effects of judicial elections, public support for courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, in the United States and abroad, and the effects of collegiality on judicial behavior.

Need help finding an expert?

Penn State expertise spans far beyond those that we have currently featured on the site. Call us at 814-865-7517 or contact a member of the media relations staff

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